


Woven

by ktfics



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alien/Human Relationships, Alternate Universe - Aliens, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Arranged Marriage, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 07:35:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19807675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ktfics/pseuds/ktfics
Summary: “Oh my fucking god, would you sit the fuck down already?” Iruma’s voice snaps at Kaito from across the ship bay.“Huh?” Kaito pauses in his pacing. “Oh, uh, sorry.”“Don’t be so rude, Iruma!” Akamatsu walks over from where she’s been glancing down at the new planet below them ever since they’d arrived. Any minute now, the transportation vessel they’d sent down to pick up the planet’s officials should be arriving. “After all, Momota has every right to be nervous! He’ll be meeting his fiance soon enough!”--20 years have passed since the militaristic Jorogumo closed off their planet to all outside contact. Now, an arranged marriage between their crowned ruler, Ouma Kokichi, and a human starship officer, Momota Kaito, will reopen trade and space travel for the species as well as bringing them back into the forefront of a dangerous political game. As both humans and Jorogumo walk on eggshells to avoid betrayal, Kaito and Kokichi will need to learn how to navigate their different worlds and their contrasting personalities in order to make it out of this alive. With a bit of time, they may even figure out how to tolerate each other along the way.





	Woven

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so happy to finally be posting this here! This was originally written for day 7 of oumota week but is going to end up being a much longer multi-chapter fic! This fic was also a collab with @luckcycler on tumblr, and you can find the designs for the characters here: https://luckcycler.tumblr.com/post/186131783207/oumota-week-day-7-free-day-wedding-a-space. @detectivesplotslies on tumblr has also made a comic based on chapter one that can be found here: https://detectivesplotslies.tumblr.com/post/186156066413/woven. Follow me on tumblr @dykeenvy for more oumota, and feel free to send asks about this au, we've done a lot of worldbuilding for it and I'd love to talk about some of the nonspoilery bits!

“Oh my fucking god, would you sit the fuck down already?” Iruma’s voice snaps at Kaito from across the ship bay.

“Huh?” Kaito pauses in his pacing. “Oh, uh, sorry.”

“Don’t be so rude, Iruma!” Akamatsu walks over from where she’s been glancing down at the new planet below them ever since they’d arrived. Any minute now, the transportation vessel they’d sent down to pick up the planet’s officials should be arriving. “After all, Momota has every right to be nervous! He’ll be meeting his fiance soon enough!” Akamatsu wiggles her eyebrows in his direction.

“I’m not- I’m not fuckin’ nervous! It’s just a big responsibility, y’know, and I’ve just been thinkin’-” Iruma cuts him off almost immediately.

“You’re wonderin’ what kinda junk they’re packing, right? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!” Akamatsu rolls her eyes as Iruma laughs hard enough to project spittle across the room.

“What- fucking, no! Of course not! What the fuck do you even mean?” Kaito resumes his pacing in an attempt to clear his head.

Kiibo’s voice interrupts whatever deranged reply Iruma was about to shout out. “Attention, crew! The transportation vessel is currently docking, the foreign diplomats will be arriving within the next five minutes!”

Akamatsu pumps her fists in a show of determination. “Alright! Show time, Momota! We’ve got to go join the rest of the crew!”

Kaito walks out almost in a daze. This is it; this is what his career has been leading up to. He goes to stand with the rest of his crewmates in the docking bay, everyone looking far more serious than he’s ever seen them before. Akamatsu’s smile turns a bit apprehensive, and even Iruma’s posture stiffens. Tanaka is, for once, without any kind of small creature adorning his person, and Ishimaru looks nearly robotic in how hard he’s trying to appear respectful. Souda is wearing his only jumpsuit that isn’t covered in oil stains, and Pekoyama has her nicest ceremonial sword displayed at her side.

Finally, the air lock opens and Shirogane escorts Kaito’s future husband onboard.

A group of seven humanoid figures delicately skitter onto the ship, and Kaito’s heart catches in his throat. The chain of command is immediately apparent, and Kaito’s eyes fixate on the man walking slightly ahead of Shirogane.

He’s beautiful. He’s incredibly unsettling, and he’s beautiful. Those two statements are supposed to contradict each other, Kaito thinks, and yet, neither thought cancels out the other.

His skin is a deep, rich purple, much darker than any of his companions. His knees bend in more than one place before tapering off into pointed feet, allowing him to walk quickly and lightly closer towards Kaito. As Kaito gazes upon him, his hair comes alive, several jointed tendrils framing Ouma Kokichi’s jawline and almost curiously reaching out in Kaito’s direction. The man is also wearing some kind of golden mask that obscures his entire face, inset with a dark black checker pattern and adorned by two intricately beaded tassels. A silken pilot’s cap obscures the top curve of the mask.

Kaito can’t look away from him. He supposes it’s a good thing, that he finds his husband handsome. It’s probably not quite as good that he feels like prey caught in the eyes of some hypnotic predator.

Ouma extends a graceful hand to Kaito. His fingers are long, Kaito realizes, longer than any human’s he knows, and his fingernails are sharp enough to send a jolt of adrenaline up Kaito’s spine. Something close to his palms glimmers and catches the light, but Kaito can’t quite make out what it is from this angle.

“Well, beloved?” Ouma tilts his head, the tassels on his mask moving with him and emitting a light sound as the small beads clack together. “Are you going to introduce yourself?”

Kaito’s eyes snap back up to the center of the other man’s mask. He wants to look him in the eyes. He wonders what he looks like under there; he wonders if he’s smiling.

“Uh, yes!” Kaito stammers, and he swears he can almost hear Shirogane’s welcoming grin grow tenser as she desperately urges Kaito not to fuck this up. “My name is Momota Kaito, Luminary of the Stars! It’s wonderful to meet you.”

Kaito reaches out and carefully takes Ouma’s extended hand in his. His skin is smooth, smooth in the way that a polished stone countertop is smooth. Kaito brings Ouma’s hand up to his mouth and brushes a kiss against his porcelain skin.

For a second, Kaito almost thinks that he’s back in control of this situation, until one of Ouma’s tendrils shyly reaches forward to leave a fleeting caress on Kaito’s jawline. His mouth grows dry once more.

Ouma takes a step back, and Kaito thinks he hears the man snicker in response to his flustered state. “My name is Ouma Kokichi, crowned ruler of the Jorogumo. It’s a pleasure, Kaito.”

Kaito. No one has called him by his given name since he was a child. Kaito’s face burns.

“Kokichi,” he mutters, just to test out the name, just to find out what it’s like to know his husband on such a personal level.

From just underneath his mask, Kaito watches the skin on Ouma’s neck begin to bloom a dark blue. He must be blushing, Kaito realizes.

Shirogane clears her throat, and gestures for Kaito to get on with it.

Kaito fumbles for the small black box weighing down his pocket. “Kokichi,” he says, clearer this time, “I have a gift for you.”

Ouma nods, and presents Kaito with a slim container wrapped in an intricately woven pattern. “As do I. It is time for the engagement to be completed in private.”

Kaito spares Shirogane one last look before he goes to bring Ouma to the room they’ve prepared for this, just to make sure he didn’t mess up this custom too badly. She gives him an encouraging smile, so he figures he must be on the right track.

As he leaves, he sees Miu let out a cackle that is much louder than she probably thinks it is and “subtly” elbow Akamatsu in the side before whispering that she calls dibs on one of the other diplomats Ouma had brought with him. Shirogane’s smile grows a lot less encouraging. Kaito hurries out of the room before Ouma can hear any more of Miu’s unfortunate personality, but he could swear he hears him snicker again.

Kaito escorts Ouma to one of the ship’s many lounges, though this one is currently empty of people and decorated with the few pieces of art they had onboard. He pulls out a chair from a small table in the center of the room and gestures for Ouma to sit.

Kaito turns to take his own seat and say something that was, without a doubt, going to be charming to Ouma, but when he looks back, the prince has near-silently taken off his elaborate mask, and Kaito no longer has to wonder if he’s smiling.

A dangerous smirk adorns the other man’s face, and Kaito just watches, frozen in place, as his mandibles peel back slightly to reveal a neat row of dangerously sharp teeth.

“Aren’t you going to take a seat, Kaito?” Kaito vaguely realizes that he’s being mocked, but that thought is drowned out as he finally gets to hear Ouma’s voice unmuffled. There’s an almost shrill undertone to his words, and as he lets out another small laugh, a soft trilling noise comes out along with it.

Kaito sits down and wonders if it would be weirder if he kept staring or if he looked away. Ouma has four large eyes with two other sets resting near his cheekbones, and all eight of them crinkle as he giggles and gazes at Kaito. They’re a deep purple shade with a pink tinge near the pupils that remind Kaito of something venomous.

“Y’know, Kaito,” Ouma leans forward in his seat, “I wasn’t expecting you to be so…” Kaito waits with bated breath for Ouma to finish his dramatic pause. “… Pointy.”

“Wha- huh?” Kaito splutters, and immediately forgets who he’s talking to. “What the fuck do you mean, ‘pointy?’”

Ouma unhelpfully gestures his hands into the vague shape of Kaito’s hair above his head. “Pointy! I didn’t think humans were supposed to be so sharp!”

“It’s called style, jackass!” Kaito’s eyes widen as he realizes exactly what he’s just said. “Uh, I mean, your highness?”

Ouma doubles over in a laugh, the tendrils of his hair undulating in a wave as his teeth click and clatter in joy. “Oh, you’re terrible. I’m going to have to have you executed, you know.”

“Wait- wait! Fuck, hold on- wait, ignore I just said that- uh-” Ouma unfolds from his laugh and rests his chin in his hands, a shadow falling over the top half of his face.

“Yup, executed for sure. Chopped up and served for lunch, maybe, or hanged from the royal palace, oh, oh, or maybe, shot out into space and left to explode!” Ouma’s fingernails tap out a staccato beat against the tabletop.

“What? You don’t explode when you’re left in space without a suit, your skin-”

“Interesting! Not the fact, you!” Kaito is almost ready to take that as a compliment, but Ouma continues before he can. “You’re so easily distracted! You’re either very stupid, or very brave.” Ouma brings a hand up to his jaw and pretends to think. “Actually, someone like you is probably both. I can’t wait to find out!”

Kaito scoffs, and finally sets the black box he’s been clutching in his hands down on the table. “And you’re pretty damn rude, aren’t you?”

Ouma leans in even closer, his voice rumbling out of his chest. “Oh, it’s part of my charm. You’ll see.” The tendrils of his hair reach out once more to surround Kaito’s face on all sides; his vision narrows down to Kokichi. “You might wanna be careful not to provoke me, Kaito. My species is highly venomous.”

Kaito dry swallows, his gaze flickering through each set of Ouma’s eyes. “It- it is?”

Ouma settles back in his seat, and the tension is nearly lost all at once in an almost dizzying manner. “Like I said; you’ll see. Now, give me your hand.”

“Uh-” Kaito blinks. “Okay?” He lays a hand on the table, palm face down, and Ouma unties the strings that were keeping the woven container he had displayed before closed.

He pulls out an intricately connected series of golden chains and rings, each of which is decorated with a shimmering purple gemstone. “Momota Kaito,” Ouma pauses for an unnecessarily long length of time once again, “Will you marry me?”

Kaito used to imagine what his proposal would one day be like when he was a kid; this is not what he had envisioned. Still, there is something twinkling in all eight of Ouma’s eyes that, while not quite romantic, is still somehow alluring. Kaito thinks that he might have said yes even without their previously arranged deal just to see where this would take him.

“I will.” Ouma gently takes Kaito’s hand in his and begins to slide each of the rings over Kaito’s knuckles, the thick golden bands settling about a centimeter above where Kaito’s fingers connect with his palm. Each of the rings is also extended by jointed plates that rest over Kaito’s knuckles and move with him when his fingers bend. The delicate chains of the engagement jewelry are spread out across the back of Kaito’s hand in a geometric pattern, and then one bracelet is clasped around his wrist while another gets clasped up near his elbow.

Kaito leans back, and Ouma retracts his hands, running a thumb across his knuckles as he does so. Kaito slowly clenches his hand into a fist and extends his fingers a few times; the jewelry is perfectly sized, and somehow doesn’t slip off of him even when he moves. It’s surprisingly light for its size, but it’s got enough of a heft that Kaito doesn’t feel like he’ll be forgetting the sensation any time soon.

“Here,” Ouma unceremoniously tosses the container that had been housing the jewelry in Kaito’s direction, who fumbles to catch it. “Engagement gift.” Kaito raises an eyebrow as if to ask if he’s serious. “It’s waterproof! And I made it just for you!”

“You- you did?” Kaito looks over the purple lace encircling every inch of the box he’s just been given.

“Mm, maybe! That would be romantic, don’t you think?” Kaito scoffs, but he figures he’ll have plenty of time in the future to unravel his husband’s lies.

“Ouma Kokichi,” Kaito pops open the small black box, and finally presents his own engagement gift. “Will you marry me?”

Ouma delicately extends one of his hands once more. “I will.”

Kaito loosely grasps onto Ouma’s ring finger and starts to slip on the pitch black band he’d picked out for the other man that’s been encrusted with the same purple gemstones that are on his own wrist piece. As he puts it on, he finally realizes what he had seen shimmering near Ouma’s palms earlier.

“Oh.” Each of the prince’s fingers are connected by very fine, uniquely patterned webs. The ring is not going to fit properly.

Kokichi, who of course knew this, snickers openly at him. “Is there a problem?”

Kaito pauses in his movements to run his fingers over Ouma’s webbing, fascinated with the sight. The other man hisses in response, and Kaito immediately pulls back. “Sorry, does that hurt?”

“No, it’s just… sensitive.” Ouma’s eyes look down at the ring and away from Kaito’s gaze.

“Like, it tickles?”

“Sure. Let’s go with that; it tickles.” Ouma removes the ring from his finger as Kaito tries to think of a solution.

“The, uh, reports we got didn’t say anything about the webs, or whatever they’re called, sorry about that-” Ouma merely clasps his fingers together and begins to produce a long, thin thread from his fingertips.

“I know. But I would hate to go against your human customs.” Ouma continues to spin the thread until he deems it a suitable length, and then loops on the ring before seamlessly joining it back to its origin. Instead of wearing the necklace, Ouma hands it back to Kaito first. “Go on.”

Kaito holds the piece of web in his hands, marveling at its surprising strength and shimmer, before he finally leans forward to hang it around Ouma’s neck. His hands brush against Ouma’s tendrils as he does so, which attempt to crowd in closer to the prince’s head to make things easier for Kaito.

And then it’s done. They’re both officially and ceremoniously engaged. Kaito’s heart beats as if he’s just run a marathon; this portion of his life, his time here on this starship, is over. The future stretches out in front of him, just as unknown and curious as the vast expanse of space has always been.

His husband stands. “Well, Kaito. Let’s get going, shall we?”

And Kaito stands to join him. The mask is placed back over Ouma’s face, the hat carefully resettled onto his head. His posture shifts, going from mischievous to strict and regal in half a second. Kaito mirrors his preparations, rolling his shoulders back and proudly gazing forward.

Together, they walk out of the room and towards whatever destiny awaits them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you want to see more of this au, please leave a comment, that's what's gonna keep me motivated to keep writing!!


End file.
